Blonde, buzz cut or frosted tips? Ryle takes down defending champ Highlands

Ryle’s baseball team wanted to loosen things up headed into Monday’s 9th Region baseball tournament quarterfinals with Highlands.

Players had their choice of bleach blonde hair, frosted tips or a buzz cut.

While the bright orange jerseys really brought out the blonde hair, so did the winning as they took down the reigning champs, 3-1 at Thomas More Stadium in Florence.

“I shaved my head for the first time in 38 years,” Raiders coach Joe Aylor said. “We had three routes, frosted tips, throwing it back to the 90’s, we got bleached hair and we got buzz cuts. I buzzed, my son buzzed and we’ll try and inject some energy into this thing.”

Xaden Hughes, who elected for the bleach blonde hair, pitched a complete game four-hitter, Michael Flowers went 3-for-3 with two RBI and the Raiders erased last year’s demons of a first round exit to Dixie Heights in a stunning upset.

“We know what it feels like to lose first round,” Hughes said. “We felt that should kind of help push us forward.”

Come Tuesday evening, they’ll get their chance at payback, taking on Dixie Heights in the semifinals at 5 p.m.

Ryle jumped on Highlands starter Ronan Thaler early, tagging him for two runs in the first on a two-out rally with RBI doubles from Flowers and Carson Cocco.

“Just trying to pass the bat to the next guy, do my job and let them do theirs,” Flowers said. “Wanted to jump on them, swinging early and being a team coming together.”

Hughes start was shaky as well, surrendering three hits on three straight singles from Kai Anderson, Layton Riesenbeck and Michael Tincher, the latter a Tincher RBI single.

Hughes settling in from there is an understatement. He allowed just one hit the rest of the way and three Highlands batters to reach base. His defense was superb, any ball in play pretty much found a glove.

“We prepped this week for everything,” Aylor said. “They executed our plan really well. We tell them make the routine plays and you don’t have to make the difficult ones. Make the routine ones and we’re going to be fine. So, we were able to do that.”

At 101 pitches headed into the seventh, Aylor didn’t even hesitate to trot Hughes back out there.

“He’s a three-year varsity starter,” Aylor said. “That’s the game that you want him in and that’s the game we got him in. He came off the mound in the sixth and said, ‘I’m going again.’ I said, ‘Alright.'”

Highlands season comes to a close at 22-14 in Brian Benzinger’s second year with the team. Kai Anderson had two of the four Bluebird hits. Thaler took the loss, going four innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, three walks and a strikeout. Braden Glaser came on in relief to work three innings, allowing two hits, a run and struck out five.

RYLE 3, HIGHLANDS 1